Encapsulated life jacket



Dec. 8, 1970 H. M. COHN ENGAPSULATED LIFE JACKET 3 SheetsSheet 1 FiledNov 25, 1968 II III II II II \I ll 1| II I III II )1 ml IIdllll'lllllllllll II II lull-ll. II II I II II II II II II II III III IIIII Il II It INVENTOR. /7 M/Q/PV/l) CO/M/ Q Dec. 8, 1970 H, M, COHN3,545,017

ENCAPSULATED LIFE JACKET Filed Nov. 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.1 S fi/ NAPV Y GO/M Dec. 8, 1970 H. M. COHN 3,545,017

ENCAPSULATED LIFE JACKET Filed Nov. 25, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVliN'lOR. 1% 60 A 7 0Ny United States Patent Office Patented Dec. 8,1970 US. Cl. 9-342 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lifepreservation device which comprises an inner filling of solid buoyantmaterial that is encased inside a material which has been heat sealed toform an outer protective covering. Life jackets, life belts, buoyantseat cushions and the like are capable of being formed in this manner.

The present invention is directed to life preservation devices that havean inner filling of solid buoyant material which is encased in a plasticmaterial that is heat sealed along its marginal edges. Although theinvention will be referred to in this application as a life jacket, itis to be understood that this invention may also be used to form otherbuoyant life preservation devices such as life belts, buoyant seatcushions and the like.

Although life jackets are well known and have been extensively used,their fabrication has involved the use of an outer covering that isstitched along its marginal edges. Despite the fact that heat sealableplastic laminates have been used for a variety of purposes, includingforming a garment lining, such materials have not been used in thefabrication of buoyant life preservation devices that would be capableof supporting a human body in water.

Use of a heat sealable material to form the outer covering in a lifepreservation device allows the manufacturer to seal the marginal scamsor attach fastening means thereto in forming the device by simply heatsealing the seams. The slower and hence more costly hand or machinestitching of these seams can thereby be avoided.

Therefore, the present invention has as one of its objects themanufacture of a buoyant life preservation device which can befabricated from a buoyant material and a heat sealable outer covering.

Another object of the present invention is formation of sealed seams inthe outer covering of a buoyant life preservation device at a greaterspeed than that possible by stitching.

Another object of the present device is formation of sealed seams in thecovering of a buoyant life preservation device at a lower cost than thatpossible by stitching.

Another object of the present device is the insertion of fastening meansto the life preservation device without the use of stitching.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a life jacket formed by the method ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the components of a lifejacket formed according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the life jacket formed according to thisinvention after, the marginal seams of the outer covering have been heatsealed but prior to formation of the shoulder straps;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a completed, unfastened life jacketformed according to this invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the completed panels ofthe life jacket taken along line s 5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the jacket panel taken alongline 66 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the shoulder strap flaps prior to theirformation into the completed strap;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a completed shoulder strap assembly;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the shoulder strap flaps prior to theirformation into the completed strap;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of another embodiment of a completedshoulder strap assembly; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the completed panelsof the life jacket taken along line 55 of FIG. 3 showing anotherembodiment for mounting the zipper.

The steps in manufacturing the life preservation device will bedescribed with particular reference to formation of a buoyant lifejacket 1. FIG. 2 of the drawings shows an exploded perspective view ofthe various components that make up such a device. It is to beunderstood, however, that other buoyant objects may be formed by themethod of this invention. Such objects as buoyant seat cushions, buoyantlife belts and the like are included in this category.

The preferred materials for use as the inner buoyant material 2 is aunicellular foamed plastic material. It has been found that UniroyalsEnsolite (Type M), a closed-cell sponge formed from a blend of nitrilerubber and polyvinyl chloride, is suitable for use in this invention.Koroseal, a unicellular polyvinyl chloride material manufactured by B.F. Goodrich Co., is also satisfactory.

An amount of inner buoyant material 2 that is sufficient to givebuoyancy to the desired object or person with which the object is to beused is sandwiched between sheets of heat sealable plastic film 3. Ithas been found that a thickness of inner material 2 that is between /8of an inch and 2 inches is generally suflicient.

In the preferred embodiment the plastic film 3 is a vinyl material thatis heat sealable. The marginal edges 4 of the film 3 are heat sealed toenclose the material 2 as shown in FIG. 6. Radio frequency electronicheat sealing machines or other suitable devices may be used for thisstep. Once the outer covering 3 has been heat sealed to enclose thebuoyant material 2 it is possible to insert fastening means, such as azipper assembly 5, in the covering by the same general method.

Seam flaps 6, as best seen in FIG. 5, may be provided on the marginaledges 4 of the film 3 just exterior to the seal 7 that was originallyformed to enclose the buoyant material 2. The zipper 5 may be insertedbetween those portions of plastic film 3 that form flap 6, and the flapmay be heat sealed to securely hold it in place. Although in thepreferred embodiment, the fastening means comprise a zipper 5, othermeans can be provided if desired.

FIG. 11 gives yet another embodiment in which the zipper 5 may befastened to the seam of the jacket. After the film 3 has been sealed at7 to enclose the inner buoyant material 2, the zipper 5 may be placedagainst the outside surface of the sealed seam 7. Suitable sealingdevices similar to those which were used to initially form sealed seam 7can be used to fasten zipper 5 securely to the surface of film 3 at theseam 7.

When the device that is manufactured is a lift jacket, shoulder straps 8may be formed which define and border those openings 9 which accommodatethe appendages of the body, namely the head and arms. The outer shoulderstrap flaps 13 have a flange 10 of plastic film 3 located at their outerends. These flanges may be placed together and heat sealed in the sameway the original jacket film covering 3 was sealed to encase the innerbuoyant material 2. This step is performed most advantageously after theouter film 3 has been heat sealed to enclose the inner material 2. FIG.7 shows the flaps 6 in sectional view before being sealed. FIGS. 4 and 8shows the flaps after they have been sealed together to form thecompleted strap 14. The flaps 6 may be heat sealed by either a ratherwide seam joint 11 as shown in FIG. 8 or along a relatively narrow seam12 that leaves a portion 13 of the flaps unjoined at their outermostedge as shown in FIG. 4.

If desired the shoulder straps 14 may be formed from flaps 13 as shownin FIGS. 9 and 10. The flanges 10 of flaps 13 may be overlain at asshown in FIG. 10' to form seam 15. Sealing of the seam 15 results in theconstruction shown in FIG. 10.

As changes may be made in the construction and arrangements of the partsherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention andwithout sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood thatall matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. A buoyant life jacket comprising an inner layer of unicellular foamedplastic buoyant material interposed between a pair ofthin plastic outercoverings, said inner layer being one piece throughout its entire area,said plastic outer coverings made of water impervious material eachbeing one piece and having marginal edges extending beyond the edges ofthe said inner layer, the outer coverings being heat sealed togetheralong said marginal edges to enclose said buoyant material, said buoyantmaterial extending substantially throughout the entire area of saidouter coverings, said inner layer and the outer coverings have notchestherein separated by flaps, the marginal edges of the outer coveringsadjacent the end of said flaps being heat sealed together so as to formshoulder straps with arm openings therein, and fastening means for saidlift jacket to enable it to fit securely around the body.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inner layer comprises aunicellular foamed polyvinyl chloride plastic.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening means comprisesheat sealed seams and zipper elements mounted on said heat sealed seams.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,338,535 1/1944 Pfieumer 93423,047,889 8/1962 Shaw 9-329 3,266,069 8/1966 OLink 9342(X) 3,400,4159/1968 Scheurer 9-342 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner J. E. PITTENGER,Assistant Examiner

